Rick Santorum Says Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Religious Freedom

August 26, 2011 — Ron Chusid

Rick Santorum argued in an interview that legalization of same-sex marriage would threaten religious freedom. I can see where some might find this difficult to understand, but really it is not difficult if you understand how conservatives think of freedom. To conservatives, freedom means the freedom to impose your views upon others. Therefore religious freedom means the freedom to impose your religious views upon others. Under this definition, it could be argued that legalization of same-sex marriage would restrict the rights of those in the religious rights to impose their views upon the rest of the country.

The concept of freedom as meaning allowing people to live as they choose without interference from government is a foreign concept to conservatives.

Santorum also said, “It’s like going out and saying, ‘That tree is a car.’ Well, the tree’s not a car. A tree’s a tree. Marriage is marriage.”